Winter Warm-Up autograph tickets go on sale

By Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com

ST. LOUIS -- Despite the forecasts and meteorologist warnings of an incoming arctic blast, there is an approaching Warm-Up to look forward to in St. Louis.

The Cardinals' annual Winter Warm-Up event will take place from Jan. 18-20 at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch, and on Monday, fans began purchasing autograph tickets. Though some players' autographs are free with admission to the three-day event, many require a separate autograph ticket. The Cardinals set the cost for each player based upon demand. All money raised will benefit Cardinals Care, the organization's community foundation for area children.

Several of the Cardinals' other prospects -- including Stephen Piscotty, Randal Grichuk, Zach Petrick, Greg Garcia, Eric Fornataro and Keith Butler -- will be signing for free. So too will more than a dozen former players, including Alan Benes, Ryan Franklin, Rick Horton, Kyle McClellan and Bill Virdon.

For a full list of player autograph prices, signing times and/or to purchase tickets, visit cardinals.com/winterwarmup. Tickets will be sold through Jan. 15 at 5 p.m. CT, or until sessions sell out. Any unsold tickets will be available for purchase at the Winter Warm-Up.

General passes to Winter Warm-Up are already on sale for $40, and include admission to all three days of the event. Discounted Warm-Up tickets ($25) can be purchased in conjunction with a ticket ($150) to the St. Louis Baseball Writers' Dinner on Jan. 19. Members of the 2013 National League Championship club and the 1964 World Series winners will be recognized at the dinner, along with Hall-of-Fame inductee La Russa and retired right-hander Chris Carpenter. For more information on this event, go to stlouisbbwaa.com.